Bug 2516485 (CVE-2026-72214)

Summary:	CVE-2026-72214 kernel: power: supply: cpcap-battery: Fix missing nvmem_device_put() causing reference leak
Product:	[Other] Security Response	Reporter:	OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component:	vulnerability	Assignee:	Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status:	NEW ---	QA Contact:
Severity:	medium	Docs Contact:
Priority:	medium
Version:	unspecified	CC:	rhel-process-autobot, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone:	---	Keywords:	Security
Target Release:	---
Hardware:	All
OS:	Linux
Whiteboard:
Fixed In Version:		Doc Type:	---
Doc Text:	A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's `cpcap-battery` driver. This vulnerability occurs because a reference to a non-volatile memory (nvmem) device is not properly released after being acquired. Repeated attempts to read battery properties can exacerbate this issue, leading to a permanent memory leak. This can ultimately result in resource exhaustion, potentially causing system instability or a denial of service.	Story Points:	---
Clone Of:		Environment:
Last Closed:		Type:	---
Regression:	---	Mount Type:	---
Documentation:	---	CRM:
Verified Versions:		Category:	---
oVirt Team:	---	RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team:	---	Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-08-15 06:15:01 UTC

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

power: supply: cpcap-battery: Fix missing nvmem_device_put() causing reference leak

In cpcap_battery_detect_battery_type(), the reference to an nvmem
device obtained via nvmem_device_find() is not released with
nvmem_device_put() on the success or read-failure paths, causing a
permanent reference leak. The driver’s retry logic on subsequent
battery property reads can compound this leak, preventing the nvmem
device from ever being freed.

Found by code review.

Comment 1 gkamathe 2026-08-18 13:37:15 UTC

Upstream advisory:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026081546-CVE-2026-72214-1711@gregkh/T